Very Short Interview No. 1

For my short interview, I interviewed John King, owner of Beach Blvd Automotive.  Mr. King opened Beach Blvd Automotive in 1967 after receiving financing from his brothers.  He passed on the business to his son, John King Jr, who continues running the business today.  He qualifies as an entrepreneur as he started his business believing he could provide better service to the community than the competition.

Q1)  How old were you when you started your business, and how long has the business been operating?

A1)  I opened the business when I was 21 years old.  Over the 49 years of service, I've turned it from just a couple of guys working on used cars into the largest used car dealership in Jacksonville.

Q2)  Is there anything you wish you had been told before you started your business?

A2)  Keep family out.  I don't mean that like it sounds, my business is family owned and operated and I am very proud of that.  But when I wanted to open up shop, I didn't have enough money for the land so my brothers invested in me but it ended up causing a lot trouble between us.

Q3)  What advice would you give someone looking to start their own business?

A3)  Learn everything you possibly can about the product you want to sell, and figure out how financing works.  You need to be able to buy the components for the product you are trying to sell, and if you can't figure out the financing, you may find yourself losing money even after you sell your product.

I initially didn't think that a used car dealer qualified as an entrepreneur according to this class, but after speaking to him about the innovative techniques he used to stay in business, I definitely consider him an entrepreneur.  It surprised me that he immediately said to keep family out of business but I can understand how money comes between friends and families.  I enjoyed interviewing Mr. King and look forward to asking him some new questions in the future.